Anyone giving up coffee?
 

Has anyone ever given up coffee? I'm at a dilemma. I don't want to give up coffee. But lately it has been making my tummy really hurt. Here's the current plan,

I wake up around 6:30 and drink one cup of coffee. I enjoy it immensely. By the end of the first cup my stomach feels terrible, nauseous and hurting. The only thing that makes it feel better is to eat something. But often I'm not hungry so early in the morning and I don't like to eat when I'm not hungry.

So I'm considering giving up my morning joe, or at least putting it off until later in the morning after I've had breakfast. I'm very scared of getting headaches, has anyone gone off coffee, how long do the effects last and is there a solution here where I get to keep my coffee that I'm not seeing? There is no problem with overconsumption, I'm a one-per-day type of girl and don't feel a need to rid it completely.

I'd say try and put it off until a little later in the morning. Perhaps you just need some food in your system first.

I don't drink mine right when I get outta bed. I wait until I'm at work and situated before making a cup and it still tastes just as great. It takes a long time for me to FULLY wake up in the morning too so coffee (while it helps) doesn't put me into full blown GO MODE like some other early drinkers.

I would think if you only have the one cup a day the withdrawls would not be that bad. Of course I could be wrong. I think the bigger problem would be the mental aspect. The habit of having the cup at that time.

Coffee is my holy grail...but I have given it up in the past while pregnant and nursing.

I've been at points in my life where I was drinking caffeinated coffee, all day up until bed, and probably about 4-5 cups in that time frame.

Giving it up does cause withdrawl, even if you are only drinking one cup a day. After about 24 hour AFTER my missed dose of coffee, I get a headache. Its a deep mild persistant headache that for me is not cured with medicine. Pills don't work, and it continues through the night and disrupts my sleep. Its lasts about 1-2 days then stops. I also feel really tired. I basically spend those days on the couch. Its a bad withdrawl for me, maybe other people don't deal with that bad of a withdrawl.

I swore everytime I gave it up that I would never go back, but I do.

I'm just at one cup a day, in the AM only. Afterwards I only drink decaf. I've had times in the past where coffee has bothered my stomach, but then that stopped. Not sure why...

I would say try to eat with it, even if it just some toast. Or if you take your coffee black, maybe put a little milk in it. You said you are not hungry in the AM. I'm just curious, are you eating shortly before bed? I notice when I stop eating several hours before bed, I wake up hungry in the morning, but if I eat clser to bed, even 1-2 hours before, I wake up not hungry...not sure if that happens to everyone?

If i was experiencing what you are experiencing, i would have myself tested for a stomach ulcer. Seriously. Your tummy should not hurt because of a cup of coffee. But i know that things like coffee, chilli, and certain other foods are aggravating to a tummy with a problem.

Some ulcers are cured with antibiotics. Others require giving up certain foods and beverages for a while. My brother in law had to do the latter thing. He was a big black coffee and red wine lover. He's given up both for quite a long time now.

Actually no, now he's cured and does drink red wine again but not as much as he used to.

But do get yourself properly checked out. It might be some other problem. The nausea is a concern. It can be quite tricky to diagnose too. My father had a complaint in that part of his body. I can't remember the details but it really had the doctors befuddled for a while. I think they eventually got to the bottom of it and he's fine now. Let us know how you get on.

Also whenever i've given up coffee, i've never had headaches or withdrawals. I guess its a personal thing.

I drank 20oz of super super strong black coffee for over 15 years. This past June I cut it because of issues over the past three years with indigestion. I swapped the coffee for two black teabags in 20 oz of water and the very first day I didn't have to take the two 12-hour antacids that I was taking almost daily. I've taken two individual pills since then!

The transition was hard because I love coffee, but the acidity just didn't work for me. The caffeinated tea gives me a wake up, but isn't so harsh on my stomach. I haven't had any coffee since then and I can't believe it. I miss it, especially when I smell it, but I'm feeling great :)

stop gradually
 

I gave up coffee because of the caffeine.

I gradually reduced the quantity I drank until I was done to a cup a day (from 3-4). Then I went half decaf for a while. Once I was able to reduce to full decaf without headaches I stopped.

This worked with minimal headaches.

That's me exactly. I was following this type of schedule for years, and suddenly it didn't work. I gave up coffee for the first trimester of my pregnancy and then introduced it back in the second. It was upsetting my stomach at the time but I would eat something with it and it was fine. My stomach has been sensitive to it ever since. Now it's gotten to the point that I can't enjoy my coffee unless it's after my breakfast meal.

I'm sensitive to caffeine, which is why I only drink one cup and in the morning only. If I drink coffee past 11am I'm up all night. I don't think I have to give up coffee altogether, I will transition to eating it after breakfast. What's difficult is giving up the ritual of waking up with a hot cuppa while the sun's coming up. I wonder if tea will do the trick.

... If I gave up my coffee I might become a psychopath.

Psychopaths are bad.

Coffee is good.

So I'll keep the coffee, thanks. ;)


On a more serious note, I have indeed had seasons where coffee makes me nauseous or bugs my body. My solution is drinking it iced and diluted with a little heavy cream, or eating almonds while I'm drinking it. Usually these things pass on their own but occasionally it's just too much for me straight, on an empty stomach. Acute pain would have me thinking an ulcer, as well.

Just a thought, try cold brewing the coffee (coffee grounds in water then filtered/strained). Less acid that way, something about the heat releasing the acids in the coffee but no acid if you warm up the cold brewed coffee in the microwave. I have bad GERD and this is the only way I can still have my coffee.

Oh, I use decaf too. Tastes the same to me.

I have given up coffee on a few occasions and the headaches usually lasted about 3 days. I am a HUGE morning coffee drinker, like 4-6 cups every morning. I recently switched to tea, and I went all out: I got a cute cast iron teapot and all the accessories, and I am trying out all kinds of loose teas (still haven't settled on a favorite). It's fun, and I think there is less caffeine. And I drink it at night too, which is great for when I have nighttime snack cravings.

One thing you might want to look at: Have you recently started taking vitamins? I have tried several times over the years to take vitamins, and after a few days I get extremely nauseous. The first couple times it happened, I blamed the coffee (because, like most people, I took my vitamin first thing in the morning). Finally through process of elimination I realized vitamins were making my stomach hurt and making me vomit. I tried different types of vitamins (gummies, liquid, etc.) but nothing worked. So I eliminated them altogether and I don't have stomach problems in the mornings anymore. Just a thought.

do you put anything in it? Reason I ask, is I can only stomach coffee with cream and sugar. Anytime I have it, my gut goes nuts and because I usually get it at the local Tim Hortons, I'm fairly certain that it's the "cream" which is probably all chemical.

If you drink it black, maybe look for the "gentle tummy" stuff. My bf drinks that when his heartburn is bad.

I drink about 4 cups a day, sometimes right before bed, and have no intention of giving it up. As a bonus, I've been reading more and more articles stating that it's good for you.

In addition to the things other posters have suggested, perhaps you could try experimenting with different brands and flavours to see if you can find a type that doesn't give you symptoms. You could also eat just a tiny bit, like a couple of spoonfuls of yogurt and a few almonds, to see if that helps.

F.

I've given up coffee a few times, for various reasons -- but my morning latte is just such a wonderful part of my day...

I'd recommend, if you cut it out, to at least switch to black tea. Also, do you think it's possible acidity is bothering you? Five or six years ago I stopped being able to tolerate normal brewed coffee. Cold brew coffee is fine, as is espresso (unless done to extremes).

When I complained about this years ago to my GP, she told me to just keep trying different brands. I googled one for sensitive stomachs and ordered it online (rainbow light). My nutritionist/RD told me that the reason why many people get nauseated or vomit from vitamins is because they're using synthetic vitamins instead of food-based. You may want to try it if you end up wanting vitamins again.